And Now We Head Home

I woke up around 5:00am and couldn’t get back to sleep so I just laid there and at 5:45am I decided to get up and get things ready to head home. Thomas got up as well and we both showered, dressed and finished packing. Once we were done we went down to breakfast and relaxed, ate and had coffee. After eating we went up to our room and read until about 8:20am. Then we decided to go and look for a letterbox that I thought might be close to our hotel. So we followed the clues and we found some of the landmarks but some were gone. They are doing construction in the area that won’t be complete until February 2019. We couldn’t get close enough to check the final landmark but looking at the construction I doubt if it is there. So we returned to our room and I worked on pictures and journaling. Then at 9:15am I went to Starbucks to get some coffee since we still have a while until we go to the airport. On the way back to the room I saw Arnold, Jeff and Jen in the lobby, they were getting ready to head out. So I said goodbye and went back up to the room. I continued working on photos and journaling until around 11:10am we got our things and we headed down to the lobby. When we got there Paul and Mary were already waiting. Thomas got us checked out and shortly thereafter Matthew showed up with the van to take us to the airport.

It took us about 35 minutes to get to the airport – thankfully it was Sunday and no traffic. At the airport we said goodbye to Matthew and then got in line to check in. The line was moving slow, there was only one person working at the time. Finally, a second person came up and things went faster. We checked in our bags, got our boarding passes and headed to security. Security went pretty fast and the first thing we did was check the board for our gate number. None was assigned yet. We had been in the airport for about 45 minutes and we decided to find a place to sit and wait for the gate to be announced. Thirty minutes later a gate number appeared on the screen. We are on American Airlines flight AA126 (seats 39AB) departing from Gate 40. We had to ask for directions (the signs were so confusing), down the escalators two flights and a train to the first stop. Finally, we arrived at the gate and we got settled for the hour we had to wait until boarding. The time went fast – we both read and before we knew it we were boarding. This time we didn’t have the row to ourselves but that wasn’t too bad. But the flight might have the worst we have ever had. There was turbulence (at times really bad) for most of the trip, the food was horrible and the flight attendants were anything but attentive. I read for a while, watched three movies (Christopher Robin, Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy 2) and then I slept for a while. Thomas was really uncomfortable for most of the flight but thankfully he was able to get some sleep as well.

Fourteen hours later we landed in Dallas and I have never been so happy to be off a plane in my life. Once off the plane we stopped at the bathroom then headed for customs. We stood in line for a while and finally got to a kiosk, where we scanned our passports, filled out a questionnaire and got a printout with our picture on it. Then we had to get into another line and go through an agent. He looked at our passport and took the printout. Next, we had to pick up our luggage at baggage claim and then wheel it fifty feet and then turn it in again – stupid! And finally, we had to go through security again, thankfully, we had TSA Precheck and then we were into the terminal. It only took us an hour and a half – it was a good thing we had a four hour layover. The departure board said our flight was departing at Gate 31 so we headed there. No sooner had we gotten settled they changed the gate to 36 – not too far so we headed there. Then we decided to get something to eat. We had a quick meal at McDonalds and then returned to our gate. I did some pictures and journaling and got some things uploaded to Facebook and my blog. We are on American Airlines flight AA2698 (seats 23DE. We are both ready to get home and all this flying is tiring. We boarded and got to our seats and when boarding was complete we were happy to find that we had the row to ourselves. So we spread out and we both went to sleep. This made for a quick flight and before we knew it we were landing in Albuquerque. We got off the plane and stopped at the bathroom, then went to baggage claim. Our bags were there and first thing is we took our jackets out and put them on – colder here than in Hong Kong.

Then we made our way out to the shuttle and then to our car. We paid our fee and we were off to Santa Fe. It was around 11:00pm when we arrived home and we were both hungry so we had something to eat and then we showered and it is now time to head to bed. This trip has been a dream come true and the trip of a lifetime. But as is usual with our trips we are always glad to be home. We didn’t get to see the dogs tonight, it is cold and Bruce kept them at the other house. Tomorrow hopefully we can get back to normal.

A Day in Paris

Today is our first full day in France and we are still moored in Le Pecq. We signed up for an all day excursion to Paris. This morning we have a bus tour of the city and then in the afternoon we tour the Louvre. We take a bus from the ship into Paris and then explore the city with a tour guide. We will be in Paris for most of the day. We started the day with a great breakfast on the ship with Deanne and Dave. Once breakfast was done we returned to our room to get our things and then stopped by the front desk for our cards. These cards have to be collected each time we leave the ship. We each get two cards - one has our name and cabin number and the other has a letter and a number (this is the group we are in for the day). At 9:00am we were on the bus and heading into Paris.
We entered the city from the N13 and continued onto Avenue de la Grande Armee. This took us to Place Charles de Gaulle with the Charles de Gaulle Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe. We drove around the Arch and then down the Champs-Elysees.

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Then we turned down Avenue Winston Churchill and drove past the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. From here we could see the Alexander III Bridge. We turned left onto Cours la Reine and made our way to Place de la Concorde. The bus driver drove around the plaza a couple of times and then turned onto Boulevard de la Madeleine. We drove down this road and eventually the Paris Opera House appeared on our left. We drove around the Opera and then over to Place Vendome and around the plaza. From here we headed over to the Louvre. We drove in front of the Louvre and past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Next we headed over to the Hotel de Ville where we parked. From here we walked over to Notre Dame. We had some time to walk around the area and the Cathedral and explore. After about 45 minutes we returned to the bus and headed to a restaurant for lunch. We ate at Au Pere Fouettard in the Les Halles area of Paris. The food was just barely okay and the service was mediocre. I believe we spent about an hour in the area and then headed back to the bus.

Leaving Les Halles we headed over to the Louvre for a guided tour.

Venus de Milo

At the Louvre we separated into smaller groups and then went on our tour. This was my favorite part of the day. Seeing some of the masterpieces that you only see in pictures was humbling.

Mona Lisa

To be in the presence of such great art was an experience I will always be grateful for. We saw the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and the Mona Lisa. Today I was able to cross off some things from my bucket list. I thoroughly enjoyed the Louvre and I want to go back and spend the whole day there.

Winged Victory

The building as well as the art was spectacular and has so much history. I even enjoyed the glass pyramid. While there we also got to see the 'Rose Line'. After the guided tour we had a little time to look at the gift shop and then it was time to board the bus and head back to the ship. But before we left Paris we made one more stop at the Eiffel Tower. On the way we drove by the Musee de l'Armee and Eglise Saint-Louis-des-Invalides. At the Eiffel Tower we were able to get out of the bus and take some pictures. Fifteen minutes later we were on the road again and on our way to the ship.

Eiffel Tower

Back on board the ship we had a little time to rest and get cleaned up for dinner. I took some time to upload pictures and do some editing. Then at 6:30pm we joined Deanne and Dave for a drink and the daily briefing in the lounge and the at 7:00pm we headed to the dining room for dinner. Tonight it was just the four of us so there was no having to make up conversation. It turned out to be an incredibly relaxing evening. After dinner I was able to finish editing pictures and get them posted on facebook. Also while we were at dinner the ship left the dock and started our travel toward Vernon. Now it is time to get some sleep - we have a busy day in Giverny and Vernon tomorrow.

Grand Palais and Alexander III Bridge